Zhou Li had never experienced anything like this before.
He hurriedly pushed Hai Wenxiang away and said, “Saintess, don’t do this. Didn’t you say that the Saintess of the Joyous Harmony Demonic Sect can only lose her virginity after becoming sect master?”
However, seeing Zhou Li’s flustered and shy reaction only made Hai Wenxiang want to tease him even more.
“Why is Your Highness so shy? You don’t look like someone who has experienced intimacy,” she said with a playful smile.
“When did this Prince ever say I had?” Zhou Li asked in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Hai Wenxiang froze, staring at Zhou Li in shock.
“Don’t tell me… Your Highness did not consummate your marriage with the Princess Consort last night?” she asked.
“What else would it be?”
“Heavens! So that means Your Highness, like me, is also still a virgin?”
Zhou Li nodded.
Hai Wenxiang looked as if she could not believe what she had just heard.
Nangong Yan’er was one of the Four Great Beauties of the Royal Capital, yet the Prince of Han had been able to restrain himself?
Zhou Li slowly spoke, “Saintess, do you know the name of the piece I just played?”
“I do not,” Hai Wenxiang shook her head. In truth, it was the first time she had ever heard such a melody.
“That piece is called ‘A Golden and Jade Union.’ Do you know why it bears that name?”
Hai Wenxiang shook her head again.
Zhou Li let out a sigh and explained, “Because it speaks of loving yet not obtaining, of being fated yet not destined.”
Hearing this, Hai Wenxiang immediately understood.
So this marriage had merely been the Prince of Han’s one-sided devotion.
Zhou Li continued, “I gave her my whole heart. I gave her everything I could. Yet she still felt nothing for me.”
“I know there has always been someone else in her heart. But I foolishly believed that if I kept standing behind her and waiting, she would eventually accept me.”
“Yet the truth proved that I was wrong. I was wrong from the very beginning.”
As he spoke, Zhou Li clenched his fists, his teeth gritted with unwillingness. “I have waited long enough. I will not wait any longer…”
Listening to his words, Hai Wenxiang felt an unexpected stirring in her heart.
She even began to pity this extraordinarily talented Prince of Han.
Of course, this was entirely Zhou Li’s intention. In the original novel, although Hai Wenxiang was the Saintess of the Joyous Harmony Demonic Sect, she was extremely sentimental by nature.
Thus, he deliberately used the original host’s tragic past to move her.
“So… that is why you did not consummate your marriage with Miss Nangong?” Hai Wenxiang unconsciously changed her form of address from Princess Consort to Miss Nangong.
“I respected her. That was the last dignity I could give her.”
“In a short time, I will leave her.”
Seeing the sorrow in Zhou Li’s eyes, Hai Wenxiang felt even more touched.
“It’s alright, Your Highness. Do not grieve over such a woman. She is not worth it. If she refuses to consummate the marriage with you, then I will. I am also still a virgin.”
As she spoke, Hai Wenxiang began to loosen her clothes.
Zhou Li quickly stopped her. “No, no, Saintess, don’t do this. It would not sound good if word spread.”
“What? Does Prince of Han find me unworthy?” Hai Wenxiang asked.
“No, no, how could that be?” Zhou Li shook his head vigorously.
“Then does Your Highness think I am not as beautiful as Miss Nangong?”
“That is not it either. You are no less beautiful than she is. The main issue is that I am still a married man. No matter what, I must wait until after I divorce her. She may be unkind, but I cannot be unrighteous, correct?” Zhou Li explained.
Hai Wenxiang pondered carefully and found his reasoning sound.
After all, she had only just met him today. Acting so hastily would indeed be inappropriate.
“You are right, Your Highness. We cannot behave like that shameless pair,” Hai Wenxiang said as she moved to sit aside.
Zhou Li stood up and straightened his clothes. “I did not come empty-handed this time.”
“If one seeks cooperation, one must show sincerity. That much I understand.”
With those words, Zhou Li reached into his robes and produced a small, unremarkable storage pouch.
It looked ordinary, but when he opened it, a breathtaking sight unfolded.
Spirit Stones poured out like a rushing spring, cascading like a waterfall.
They were crystal clear and shimmered brilliantly, as if their radiance illuminated the entire room.
Hai Wenxiang was completely stunned. Her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open.
This… this was far too much. Had the Prince of Han moved an entire spirit pool here?
The Spirit Stones continued flowing out for quite some time, seemingly endless.
At last, the torrent slowed and finally stopped, and the storage pouch returned to stillness.
“Hehe. My Prince of Han’s residence may not possess other rare treasures, but when it comes to Spirit Stones, we have no shortage,” Zhou Li said with a faint smile, placing his hands behind his back calmly.
“There are two thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and five hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones here. Does the Saintess wish to count them?”
Looking at the pile of Spirit Stones covering the floor, Hai Wenxiang swallowed.
To be honest, Falling Blossom Pavilion would not earn this much in an entire year.
The sect did not provide cultivation resources, only techniques.
One could only say that princes of the empire were truly outrageously wealthy.
Clearing her throat, Hai Wenxiang said, “Since Your Highness is so generous, this little woman cannot be stingy either.”
With a wave of her hand, a cup of tea floated into Zhou Li’s hand.
“And this is?” Zhou Li sniffed it. The fragrance was exquisite.
“Drink it first, and then I will tell you,” Hai Wenxiang said mysteriously.
Zhou Li drank it in one gulp.
“Now can you tell me?”
Hai Wenxiang smiled seductively. “That tea was brewed using my own bodily essence.”
???!!!
Zhou Li stared blankly at the empty cup, then at Hai Wenxiang.
“What? Did Your Highness not enjoy the taste?” Hai Wenxiang gently stroked her long, jade-like legs and looked at him with a bewitching expression.
“Delicious… very delicious…” Zhou Li said awkwardly with a forced smile.
As expected of someone from the demonic path. Truly wicked.
“Ahem. Since this Prince has achieved his purpose here, I will not linger.”
“It is late. Saintess should rest early. I shall take my leave.”
As Zhou Li stood to leave, Hai Wenxiang stopped him.
“Your Highness, you have not yet exchanged communication jade slips with me.”
“Oh, my mistake.”
…
By the time Zhou Li returned to the Prince of Han’s residence, it was already past 9 p.m., and the servants had all retired for the night.
Just as Zhou Li was about to return to his room, a female voice sounded.
“Your Highness, why have you only returned now?”
Zhou Li turned around and saw Nangong Yan’er standing there, her face full of dissatisfaction.